Sunday Morning
by fairytale ideals
Summary: Even though he's less spontaneous than Jeff, Nick still can't always stick to plan.


_This isn't another chapter of Pursuit, which I promised I would have had up before now. But, it's something. This is what happens when you tell me you've had a bad day and you want a bedtime story (no, really)._

* * *

When Nick proposes, it's a Sunday. It's not even a nice Sunday or anything. It's raining, actually, and it's cold outside.

It's not even raining. It's "wintry mix"ing, so the sidewalks are going to be disgusting and it's going to freeze and Nick has never had the balance that Jeff has and so he's definitely going to bust his ass on the sidewalk.

Except none of those things have occurred to Nick yet. Nick doesn't even know it's raining, or snowing, or whatever it is that is going on outside.

All Nick is aware of is that he's wrapped up in his bed, warm and comfortable with Jeff wrapped up in his arms.

Well, that and the diamond ring hidden in the nightstand. It's stuck underneath an ankle brace, where Nick knows Jeff will never look. He knows this because Jeff _never_ looks in the nightstand; whenever he gets aches in his ankle and he wants to wear the brace, he stumbles around the apartment opening drawers and cabinets and mumbling "It's around here somewhere" until Nick finally kisses him and hands it to him. Nick loves Jeff, he does, but he's one of the most absentminded people he knows. It's alright, though, because it gives him a perfect hiding spot.

Nick turns a little bit so that he can glance at the nightstand, the drawer cracked just slightly from where he hadn't bothered to close it last night (lube is another thing that Jeff relies on Nick to grab). He could reach over and feel for the velvety black box and just run his fingers over the top of it. But he doesn't. Jeff is just awake enough that he'd probably notice if Nick did that, and Nick has _plans_, dammit. Plans that involve a fancy dinner that will most likely be candlelit and a romantic walk through the park and maybe a spontaneous musical number (if the music starts and the people in the park start dancing and singing, he's not going to say no to a good thing). None of those plans involve Jeff finding the ring earlier than intended. So instead of touching the ring box, Nick reaches over and strokes Jeff's hair.

Jeff makes a noise that Nick sort of feels like would be best described as purring, though Jeff is definitely more like a puppy than a cat.

"Morning," he murmurs to Jeff, but instead of greeting him back, Jeff just sort of shuffles closer to him, pressing his face into the crook of his neck. "Did you sleep well?"

He feels Jeff smile against his neck (and damn if that isn't one of his favorite feelings in the world) before the blond mumbles, "I have no idea what you're talking about, I'm still sleeping."

Nick chuckles, shoving him slightly.

Jeff grumbles, turning his head so that he can pout. He is still, stubborn as always, keeping his eyes closed.

"Open your eyes," he says.

So Jeff does, and Nick's heart does that stupid thing it does sometimes when he looks at Jeff where it feels like he might be having a very pleasant heart attack. It's just that there's something in the way Jeff's eyes look against the white of their sheets, the way he blinks a few times, the way there's those weird little crusty things in the corners of his eyes.

Nick lets out a breath, incapable of any thought other than _I want to marry this man_.

It's silly, really, the way he gets this feeling. It kind of reminds him of Jeff, really. Jeff is way more spontaneous than he is, which really is part of the reason that he loves him. Things with Jeff just leap up at you suddenly, and you never even think of anything else but to go along with it.

Which is exactly what Nick decides to do. Big shows of romance are great, but does he _need_ that? Looking back years from now, will he prefer some "magical" moment that he spent ages preparing and planning for and yet in the end could be the same as any other couple's, or would he rather remembering being so swept away by the sight of the love of his life waking up that he just _had_ to propose right then and there?

"Happy?" Jeff says, and Nick almost bursts out laughing but stops himself, remembering that Jeff isn't in on his internal monologue.

"Mm, I am," Nick says, pulling Jeff in to kiss him even as he reaches back with one arm into the drawer and blindly feels for the ring box.

Jeff notices the motion, leaning back slightly and raising an eyebrow. "Did you wake me up just to-"

Nick laughs, shaking his head and cutting Jeff's question off with another kiss as his fingers close around the soft black box.

Jeff leans back again, starting to ask, "Then what-?"

He cuts him off again, this time just barely brushing their lips together before pulling back again. "I love you, Jeff," he says, the air from his words passing almost immediately from his mouth to Jeff's slightly parted lips.

This gets him a slightly curious look and a raised eyebrow, but Jeff just murmurs back, "I love you too."

Nick closes his eyes for a second, his fingers curled around the box still hidden behind his back. He's nervous, even though he knows, kind of, that he shouldn't be. He /knows/ that Jeff wants to marry him. It's one of those promises that they whisper on late nights when they're too tired or too lazy to have sex but still want to show each other their love._ We have the rest of our lives to have sex, Ducky, tonight I just want to hold you._

"You are just… so perfect," he whispers against Jeff's lips, and he realizes then that he was no idea anymore how his speech was meant to go. He's gone over it so many times before, and yet, now when it matters, he doesn't have it on the top of his head.

Jeff opens his mouth to say something, but Nick just shakes his head, the tips of their noses brushing.

"I mean it," he says. "You're the greatest thing to ever happen to me, with your silly blond hair and… well, silly everything." He pauses, chuckling. "People always tried to tell me that you'd have to grow up, or I'd get tired of you, but god… I didn't. I didn't get tired of you at all, I've only grown to love you and your quirks more."

Jeff opens his mouth again, snaps it shut when Nick puts his hand with the box in it in front of him. He sets the box down, and it sits there between them, Jeff's eyes locked on it for a moment before looking back up at Nick in surprise.

"The thing about you, Jeff, is that you always try to romance me. And believe me, I love it, I do, but… That's not what I love most about you," he continues.

Jeff has moved his hand up to cover his mouth, but Nick reaches for it, lacing their fingers together.

"No, the things I love most about you are completely beyond your awareness," he says. "They're the things you do just because you're you, Jeff Sterling, not because you're Nick's boyfriend Jeff or So-and-so's buddy Jeff.

"I love the way you always leave the bed unmade and you never clean up after yourself when you cook—and I love how you cook even though I keep telling you not to—and how you visit your family then get drunk and slur love poems over the phone to me. And… I love how you fall asleep and then wake yourself up by sneezing. Mmm… Oh, and I love how you get upset and you rant and shout and curse and then you just flop down on the couch and grumble until I come over and cuddle you and assure you that no, life isn't fair, and you're totally right."

Jeff's grin grows at that, realizing that the pattern of rant, flop, grumble is a thing that he does with regularity, and how Nick is always there to watch and wait until he's done to do anything. His gaze returns to the ring box in front of him as Nick opens it up, his eyes going wide at the sight of the engagement ring inside.

Nick pulls it out, biting his lip before he continues, "Anyways, I guess what I'm trying to say is… I love every little thing about you, and I want to spend the rest of my life finding out more of those little things." He pauses, chuckling a bit nervously before saying, "I know I'm not on one knee or anything, but… Jeff Sterling, will you marry me?"

The words are barely out of his mouth when Jeff flings himself at Nick, the sheets rustling around them as their bodies tangled together as if Jeff is afraid Nick is going to be pulled away. "Yes," he mumbles against his skin. He starts to pepper kisses over Nick's face, saying it over and over again in between kisses.

After a moment they finally pull back, and Nick, with terribly shaky hands, puts the ring on Jeff's (equally shaky) left-hand ring finger.

For a moment they pause, as if trying to figure out the next step. There are certain things that you sort of expect when you get engaged. But Jeff just turns, pressing his back to Nick's front and pulling Nick's arms around him. He puts his left hand out in front of him, and they both stare at the ring, the way the light hits it and makes it shine.

Jeff asks Nick how much he spent on it, and Nick says he's not supposed to ask that. Jeff smacks him lightly, saying that he just _knows_ he spent way too much on it, though Nick insists that Jeff will always be worth every penny.

They spend all day in bed. They consider for a bit going out and doing something, maybe gathering up their friends to have a night of drinking in celebration, but looking out the window at the damn "wintry mix" makes the decision for them, deciding that they should stay in bed, kissing and laughing and holding each other because this is the first time they've been able to call each other fiancés and they want to remember this moment forever.


End file.
